A Feather in the Cell
by techGen
Summary: "Cold metal meets your clawed hand as you shake the bars of your cell. A shock runs up your arms..." Experiment and scientists, oh my!


Cold metal meets your clawed hand as you shake the bars of your cell. A shock runs up your arms after each shake, but you ignore it. Your task now is more important. Besides, after what's been done to you, you can ignore the shocks easily.

You continue to shake the bars, hoping to alert a guard. After a while, you give up. Either they were ignoring you or there were no guards in the area, but the chances of that being the case were slim. Sighing, you turn and face the full-body mirror placed by your "bed". The mirror is there to remind you of what they've done to you, to remind you that you're a freak. That nobody would like you with how you are now.

Blonde hair frames your face, an almost-white color. In the darkness of the cell, your red irises glow. You had always hated your eyes. But now you have more of a reason to.

**== Be the older brother.**

Older brother, what? You aren't someone's big bro, at least not anymore. Your little bro had been taken from you years ago. You were never able to find him, no matter how hard you tried. And damn, you tried. Searched almost everywhere. Almost everywhere. There were some places you would not risk entering (like Midnight Labs). You wouldn't be able to continue the search for the lil man if you were dead.

You've asked around, describing him to people, hoping they'd seen him. There was no luck, no sightings of your brother. It was like he disappeared completely, gone.

You hated yourself for letting him disappear. You were a horrible guardian, can't even risk going to Midnight Labs to search for your brother.

You, Dirk Strider, are an idiot, and you now realize it.

**== Be the freak.**

You are now the freak in a cell, otherwise known as Subject SD4V3. You just call yourself DS instead. You don't have a name, just an identification given to you by the assholes who call themselves scientists. The people that made you what you are.

**== Be Dirk Strider**

What, you don't know any "Dirks".

**== I said, Be Dirk Strider.**

Okay, okay.

When have you ever not been yourself? But you are indeed Dirk Strider, and you are putting on shoes, ready to continue the search for your brother. But this time, you will go to the one place you never checked. Midnight Labs.

You've heard rumors but you never gave them any thought. You've heard rumors about the things the scientists did in those labs. About the freaky experiments done to people. But as you stated before, you never really gave them any thought.

**== Be Subject SD4V3.**

You are once again SD4V3, still in your cell. You're staring at your clawed fingers with disgust. The scientists are in your cell, inspecting. Slowly you lift a hand, shifting. Once you put your hand back down, they're walking closer to you. They start talking, you can see their mouths move, but you've long since stopped listening to them. One grips your arm, and you watch as he pokes your arm with a needle, injecting something into you. A normal procedure.

**== Be the irritated man.**

You are now the irritated man, Dirk. You've finally managed to get into Midnight Labs, which should be a good thing. You got in and immediately started searching. You spent hours walking through the halls of the labs and you only have one last place to search, having no other sign of him in any other place.

You stand in front of the door leading to what you think is the basement, only a small bit of hope left. But then again, you hope he isn't in this place.

Slowly, you make your way down, looking around and trying to be as quiet as possible. If you alerted anyone to your presence, it would be all over, all of your efforts for nothing.

While you're thinking, you hear footsteps approaching. You flashstep away, getting as close to the wall as you can. They pass by and you get a glimpse of a paper in their hand. But all you see is "Subject SD4V3 is…" before you're flashstepping down the hall until you see a door. You push on the door, it opening quickly. You quietly step in, glancing at the cell now presented to you and looking closer after. The sight before you is horrifying. You see a body, curled up in the corner of the cell. Along with familiar red eyes, only with a glow.

**== Be DS**

You are now DS, curled up in the corner of your cell. There is a man standing close to your cell and you find yourself staring at him. You know he's not one of those scientists, especially with the way he's staring at you. Shocked, yet not scared. But it seems like he wouldn't be scared of much.

You watch as he finally steps forward, lips pulled into a frown. Hesitantly, you inch closer to the bars, curious.

**== Be** **the man inching closer to the cell.**

You are Dirk once more, standing very close to that cell. You notice the quiet click of claws on what you believe is tile. You're tempted to reach for the bars, but you don't know if this "SD4V3" is dangerous. But you do so anyways. Because you are you.

Once you grab the bars, a small shock runs up your arm. You glance over to a lock and suddenly let go of the bar your hand had been holding. You move to the lock and look at it.

**== Be the confused bird-boy. **

You are the bird-boy and you are very confused. You have been watching the strange man look at you and then he suddenly moved, the hand much different than your own letting go of the bar he was holding. He moves to the "door" of the cell, inspecting the lock. By then, you're as close to the bars as you can be without shocking yourself. Which is actually pretty close. The man glances your way occasionally, as he pulls something out of his pocket and starts messing with the lock.

Moments later, you're moving out of the cell and standing in front of the stranger. You don't try to run, this guy did save you. And now you can actually see him, too. He's tall, taller than you, with hair shades darker than our own. You can't see his eyes behind pointed anime sunglasses. There's something familiar about him, you note, but you know there's no way you could know him.

**== Be the concerned brother.**

You are once more Dirk Strider and with him standing in front of you, you know this is your brother. His features are all too familiar. You open your mouth to speak and you immediately start stuttering. How uncool of you.

"D-Dave?" you ask, the name so familiar, but not said in years.

He turns his head and for a moment you think he's unable to understand, until he frowns and shakes his head.

Your heart shatters right then.

**== Be the confused boy-bird-thing.**

You are DS and you are very, very confused. Who is that man and why is he calling you that? As far as you know, you don't even have a name. You tilt your head and stare at him, a confused look in your eyes. You try and concentrate, thinking that if he knows you, you might know him. But you draw a blank, the man still unknown. You find yourself shaking your head and regretting it immediately after. The look on his face so heartbroken, even with the glasses. Sadness and little hope. You're almost surprised to see him crying so you lift a clawed hand and reach for his face. He watches as you wipe tears away.

When you touch the man, you suddenly become dizzy,. You lean back and are met with a moving room. The last thing you remember is falling and strong arms accompanied by a worried shout.

**== Be the man freaking out.**

You are Dirk Oh-Holy-Shit Strider and your younger brother doesn't remember you. You know you're frowning, your perfected poker face broken at the sight of him. His hand, now clawed, reaches for your face and you find yourself to be crying. When he touches you, he suddenly leans back and he's falling. You rush to catch him, hugging him close when you do. You're careful, just now noticing limp, bloody wings. They'd be black with little spots of red, if not for the blood and dirt.

You're brought out of your thoughts when you hear footsteps coming closer. You start to move, flashstepping out of the door and you start moving to the exit, remembering what way you entered from.

**== Be the now waking boy.**

You are unable to be DS, as he's currently unconscious and remembering his life.

**== DS, wake up now.**

Okay, you are now DS, awake and being carried. Your head is spinning, still, and you're starting to remember.

**== Be Dirk again.**

You are Dirk again and your brother is now waking up as you carry him out of the facility. You look down at him and his red eyes blink at you. You're muttering, telling him that he'll be safe.

**== Be DS.**

You are now DS again, or Dave, which is your actual name. You can remember your life before you were made what you are now. You look up at the man, who you now know to be your brother and blink.

"Bro?" you call out slowly.

**== Be the happy man.**

You are the happy man, also known as Dirk, and your little brother is awake now. You're walking to your apartment when he slowly asks "Bro?" You stop, staring down at him in shock.

"I thought you didn't remember?" you ask him, starting to walk again. He replies with a small "I didn't." He sounded scared, so full of fear. It makes you angry to see him like this. So scared, because of those scientists. But you'll make things better now that you have him back. You cannot fix what was done to him, but you can do your best to erase his fear.

**== Be Dave.**

You are Dave Strider, still being held by your brother as he carries you up the stairs of your apartment building. You've always hated stairs, but you know that the elevator is still broken, even after all of those years. It's a relief to see such a familiar place, though.

You know that you'll be safe now, with your brother.


End file.
